Corporate reputational elements

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to create meaningful insights into the extent of and how corporate reputational elements are reflected in stories, told within an organisation. The research focused on the researcher’s organisation, Nashua Mobile Rosebank. The data was collected from 12 employees of the Rosebank branch in one on one taped interviews. The interviews were then analysed to determine whether they reflected any of the 27 elements in Schwaiger’s (2004) literature. The stories and dialogue did reflect some of the 27 corporate reputational elements. However, the findings showed more of a similarity between the 12 interviewee’s perceptions than a reflection of the 27 elements modelled by Schwaiger (2004). The key findings were: · That stories told within an organisation reflect some reputational elements, as set out by Schwaiger (2004). · Four of the 27 elements were important to the respondents. Six elements were not reflected in the stories at all. These findings may be due to the nature of our business, our brand and what is important to our company. · Respondents perceptions on corporate reputation were a reflection of Nashua Rosebank, the company and its brand, more than a reflection of Schwaiger’s (2004) elements. This may have been because the model is designed to encompass all reputational elements regardless of the nature of the organisation. The key message that emerged through the research is that every staff member affects the reputation of an organisation through the informal dialogue and stories they share, reinforcing, evolving and incrementally developing it